Peace Lilies are beautiful plants blessed with green, lush foliage. However, what truly makes them so unique and loved is their white, oval-shaped flower that grows in a spadix. Failing to see your Peace Lily flowering can be worrying and frustrating, but with the right strategy, you can get your plant to bloom again.
So, why a Peace Lily won’t flower? This plant can thrive in most lighting and watering conditions, yet a lack of sunlight can stop it from flowering. Not mature and rootbound Peace Lilies, as well as plants that suffer from a lack of nutrients, can fail to bloom. Tell-tale signs include yellow or wilting leaves and emerging roots.
Knowing what is affecting your plants can help you see it blooming in a matter of months or weeks. Let’s dive into what you need to know to get your Peace Lily to bloom.
Peace Lily Flowering Patterns
Before starting to worry because your Peace Lily is not giving signs of blooming, it is essential to understand the peculiar flowering patterns of this plant.
Spathiphyllum, commonly known as Peace Lilies, is a native plant of the tropical and subtropical regions of America and Southeast Asia. This factor is determining when it comes down to knowing what to change in the environment of your plant to start seeing the first signs of blooming.
Indeed, Peace Lilies are tolerant of low-light conditions, yet they won’t flower unless exposed to enough sunlight or indirect light. However, Peace Lilies will not bloom until they reach maturity and, even in this case, they do so following an erratic pattern.
Therefore, unlike other house and garden plants, you can expect to see them blooming at any point during the year, independently of the season or month. Even a Peace Lily that has flowered in the past can do so at a completely different time.
Lastly, old plants, just like very young ones, are less likely to bloom compared to other mature Peace Lilies. In any case, check out below the techniques to increase the chances of seeing flowers on your plant this year.
Need for Repotting
Most likely, when you bought your Peace Lily plant, you would have noticed the charming flowers rising among its foliage. In many cases, however, the plant is too young to create a flower naturally, so this feature is induced using a Gibberellic Acid treatment.
Once the flower runs through its life cycle, your plant might still be too young to produce another one within short timeframes. In this case, you should ensure that its growth is stable and encouraged.
Aside from creating the right environmental conditions through adequate lighting and watering, it is essential to understand when your plant needs repotting.
Symptoms
The most visible sign that your Peace Lily needs repotting is the roots emerging from the ground or through the pot’s drainage holes. However, this could be that your plant is rootbound, which can significantly reduce – or even stunt – its growth.
If the roots become too close, the plant will suffer from a lack of oxygen and nutrients. It is crucial to notice that individual plants suffer from rootbound when still in a store, so you should check if this is the case just after buying them.
Repotting your plant into a new, larger container that can accommodate its roots will ensure that the plants have access to the essential nutrients it needs. In turn, this can speed up its growth and, once mature, the flowering process.
Need for Fertilizer
Peace Lilies are known to like moist, yet well-drained soil. This perfect balance allows the leaves to source enough water to remain healthy, green, and shiny while avoiding root rot. However, if the ground starts to lack nutrients and water, this can impact the plant’s ability to produce flowers.
Therefore, you could opt to add fertilizer to the soil. This solution should be implemented carefully, only adding a balanced fertilizer at ¼ of the recommended dosage.
Any commercial fertilizer will be an excellent choice for your Peace Lily, but you should opt for one that is:
- All-purpose
- Water-soluble
- 20-20-20 (equal parts of phosphorous, potassium, and nitrogen)
In any case, adding too much fertilizer to the plant in an attempt to stimulate flowering can cause the burning of roots and tips. It is enough to fertilize your Peace Lily once every three months.
Symptoms
It can be tricky to identify your plant’s needs for fertilizer, but some tell-tale signs can help you solve the issue promptly. Slow growth and yellowing leaves are among the most common symptoms that your Peace Lily needs fertilizer.
However, don’t forget that plants absorb nutrients from the water just as well. If your plant needs essential compounds to stimulate its growth, you should evaluate whether you are implementing a correct watering regimen. Peace Lilies need their soil to stay moist, yet well-drained. At the same time, they should only receive water once the potting mix is thoroughly dry to avoid stagnating water by the roots.
Inadequate Light
Inadequate lighting is among the main factors that could compromise your Peace Lily’s ability to flower. Indeed, while these plants can tolerate and even thrive in the shade, the lack of sunlight stops them from producing blooms.
Copyright article owner is ReadyToDiy.com for this article. This post was first published on May 13, 2020.
Oppositely, exposing a Peace Lily to direct sunlight for a prolonged period can cause the leaves to burn and the soil to dry quickly. This condition can be just as detrimental to the plant. Ultimately, Bright, filtered – or indirect – light creates the best conditions for your plant to bloom.
Another factor that could aggravate the condition is the temperature of the plant’s surrounding environment. Indeed, while Peace Lilies are highly adaptable and cope well in a variety of ecosystems, temperatures should be stable between 68℉ and 85℉ (20℃ to 30℃). Undoubtedly, this bracket can encourage the growth and wellbeing of the plant.
Symptoms
The symptoms of inadequate lighting can show in different ways in the leaves and soil of the plant.
- Symptoms of too-much light – a Peace Lily that is exposed to too much light will struggle to replenish the nutrients and water necessary to keep the leaves green and healthy. So, the first symptoms of this condition will appear in the foliage, which will become burned and turn yellow or brownish. As the plant cannot replenish nutrients for the leaves, it won’t have enough to encourage the production of flowers.
- Symptoms of not enough light – not enough light is just as detrimental for your Peace Lily, which will appear wilted and yellowish. Indeed, this condition does not allow it to manufacture food through photosynthesis, which can result in smaller, weaker plants. For the best chances of seeing your Peace Lily in bloom, place it near a source of indirect sunlight.
While your plant can be entirely healthy in a shaded area, changing its position and placing it by a source of light can make a difference in whether you can enjoy its flowers or not.
Final Thoughts
Peace Lilies are easy to cultivate and highly adaptable to several environmental conditions. However, their flowering patterns are irregular and differ from other plants. Indeed, the ability of your plant to produce blossoms depends on the amount of sunlight it receives, as well as fertilizer and adequate watering.
ReadyToDIY is the owner of this article. This post was published on May 13, 2020.
In any case, a plant that is not mature will struggle to produce flowers until it reaches the right age. Even if you have repotted it, fertilized, and exposed it to sunlight, it can still take a few seasons to enjoy the first flowers.